Others

There has been a vigorous response by working class people in Pakistan
and Kashmir to help the victims and those affected by the devastating
earthquake in these regions. In many areas, working class people
provided relief and attempted to rescue victims long before even the
military arrived. Volunteers from all over the country reached the
affected areas where the Pakistani army still does not operate at full
capacity. Trade unions in Pakistan and Kashmir have donated generously.
But still there are many political parties which are using relief effort
to make political gains for themselves.

Islamic parties and groups are using relief to get support in local
communities. The armed reactionary Islamic groups have not only
resurfaced but are also operating in free and open manner, attempting to
justify their existence portraying themselves as the best providers of
aid. These armed groups have a history of killing and attacking left
wing political activists, trade unionists and students. Their open
activities in Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) will pose
a great threat to left wing political workers and students. Banned
organisations and groups, like Lashkar-e-Taibah (now Jamat al Dawah, an
extreme Wahabi hard-line Islamic group) and Albadar Mujahideen (an armed
group linked with Jamat-e-Islami) are trying to get maximum publicity in
the media.

The parties of the ruling class of Kashmir and Pakistan are also busy in
this attempt to use provision of earthquake aid to buy political support.

What we have seen, and experienced, in the last few days, is a clear
indication of a covert election campaign in the earthquake areas. The
Musharraf regime in Pakistan wants to improve the fading image of the
army, and so the official TV channels and media are busy in a propaganda
campaign supporting the President’s wishes in this regard. The Musharraf
regime has refused to learn anything from this tragedy and they still
continue the same mistaken policies of using army officers at every
level in the relief and rehabilitation work. The Federal relief
Commissioner is a serving general and now he has appointed another
general to prepare a housing plan for the affected areas. Army officers
have been put in charge of different affected areas for reconstruction.
This, despite the fact, that the army tops failed miserably to respond
when the earthquake first happened.

General Musharraf conceded this fact in an address to the nation on 12
October, when he admitted that the army and administration had lost a
crucial 72 hours in responding to the disaster.

The Generals want to give the impression that the only honest, reliable
and efficient institution in the country is the military, so that every
one should trust blindly this institution.

In all likelihood, behind the scenes there is tension between the
generals and the ruling elite of Kashmir over who should get the maximum
share in the reconstruction process. Tension has already developed
between the provincial government of NWFP, led by the alliance of
religious Islamic parties (MMA), and the Musharraf administration. The
provincial government demands 50% share of the aid. These sorts of
tensions can give rise to increased nationalism in Kashmir and NWFP and
lead to greater demands for autonomy and independence. The ruling elite
in these regions will use this nationalist sentiment, which arises from
the oppression and discrimination against the national and ethnic
minorities that live in the region.

Elections are due next year in Pakistani Occupied Kashmir and in
Pakistan in 2007. So the power and prestige of all the big political
parties is at stake. All the big players want to get maximum electoral
support for their relief efforts. Jamat-e-Islami in Kashmir and NWFP are
clearly involved in these maneuvers. They have already stockpiled a huge
amount of aid to be used in coming months to get electoral support.
However, these parties pose no alternative to the continuation of
capitalism and the grip of the feudal lords. They are concentrating
heavily in Bagh, because they previously won a seat in this area, the
only one they ever won in Kashmir. The leaders of the Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP) in Kashmir are also using the aid sent by working class
people from Pakistan to get votes. They have kept back supplies to use
later to boost their political popularity.

Opposition to armed groups

Members of the Trade Union Rights Campaign Pakistan and Kashmir have
intervened on four occasions to stop dozens of armed men from a
religious group who tried to force the loaded aid trucks arriving in
Bagh to go to their camp. They wanted to distribute the aid, claiming it
was their "aid to the people". These trucks were destined for the rural
areas. When TURC members intervened to stop the armed group taking the
supplies, local people also gathered and opposed the armed groups. TURC
members, with the help of local people, forced armed groups to leave the
area.

Many parties and religious groups are not fairly sharing out aid. They
are distributing it among their supporters and giving very little to
poor peasants and workers. The armed Islamic groups are taking full
advantage of the fact that there is no state and government
administration in these areas.

A working class alternative is needed to change this system of greed and
exploitation. This capitalist system uses destruction and misery to
carry out widespread corruption and to make money for the few, at the
expense of the many. This earthquake, a “natural disaster”, exposed the
horrors of capitalist society. The disaster poses the need to change
this rotten system and replace it with socialism.